John Goodman Moves Into ‘Alpha House’

The iconic TV actor will headline Amazon.com’s upcoming comedy pilot from the creator of “Doonesbury.”

Among the streaming services, Netflix is the current heavyweight when it comes to original programing like “House of Cards” and the upcoming revival of “Arrested Development.” But it seems like Amazon.com is serious about giving Netflix some added competition.

According to Deadline, John Goodman has been signed to star in “Alpha House,” the first of six comedy pilots produced by Amazon that will be released online to Amazon Prime subscribers. Fan reaction to the pilots will determine which of the projects will go forward as original series.

Created by Garry Trudeau (“Doonesbury”), “Alpha House” was inspired by the story that Democratic politicians Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, George Miller and Bill Delahunt all shared a home while living in Washington D.C. years ago. Goodman will play Gil John Biggs, a senator from North Carolina with is living with three other senators.

The report notes that Goodman’s character is a former college basketball coach who parlayed his success into a long senate run. However, Biggs is now facing an election battle against a much younger coach from Duke’s basketball program.

As several industry observers have noted, Amazon seems to have adopted the TV Land approach of getting classic television sitcom stars to appear in their original series. Bebe Neuwirth (“Cheers”) recently joined another Amazon comedy pilot called “Browsers.”

Goodman is best known for playing Dan Conner opposite Roseanne Barr in “Roseanne,” in addition to numerous film roles including O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, Evan Almighty, The Artist and most recently in Argo and Flight. Goodman also had a recurring guest role on the third season of “Community.”